Young local sailors impressed at the Open Dinghy Regatta, their last warm-up event before the Laser 4.7 World Championships in Italy next month. Weather conditions were ideal on both days with steady winds of 8-10 knots for the two afternoon races on Saturday and 10-15 knots for Sunday's three races. Courses were typically 'triangle-sausage', with the longest leg approximately 1.5 kilometres. South Island School's Jamie Dalton emerged first runner-up in the Laser class with a second, a third, two fourths and a fifth in the event organised by the Hong Kong Yachting Association off Port Shelter, Sai Kung. His teammates Charles Walther, Andrew Houston-Floyd and Akiko Sakai came fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 13-strong fleet. Matt Goulter, despite retiring from one of the races, was crowned champion with three firsts and a second. In the other classes, Hong Kong national sailor Eva Leung and her partner Ng Tsui-yee won the 420 class, Ho Chun-kuen and Leung Sai-yin took the 505 class, while Hon Ka-yu and Lee Kwok-hang came first in the Optimist and Topper classes, respectively. Goulter was crowned overall champion, narrowly beating Leung/Ng and Ling Suet-fung/Cheng Sze-kei, who came first and second, respectively, in the 420 class.
